Cal’s Rogers earns hammer three-peat, now No. 9 all-time in world at 254-10 (77.67m), as she and Texas State’s Wilson lead deepest NCAA field; Ohio State’s Aquilla wins back-to-back shot put crowns to equal No. 9 in U.S. at 64-5.25 (19.64m)

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

EUGENE, Ore. – Camryn Rogers of Cal and Texas State’s Alyssa Wilson squared off Thursday in one of the most memorable women’s hammer throw clashes ever showcased at the NCAA Division 1 Championships and elevated the entire field to the deepest collegiate competition in history.

Adelaide Aquilla of Ohio State decided she wanted the spotlight all to herself under the bright lights at Hayward Field and quickly reminded all potential challengers after only one round why she is the reigning Division 1 outdoor shot put champion.

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Both competitions resulted in collegiate records, with Rogers building on her existing standard while also improving on her Canadian all-time mark to ascend to the No. 9 competitor in global history.

Aquilla matched the No. 9 performer ever in the United States, as both athletes who represented their countries at the Tokyo Olympics made significant strides toward qualifying for the World Championships at the same venue July 15-24, all at the promising age of 23.

Rogers launched her fifth-round attempt 254 feet, 10 inches (77.67m), a four-foot improvement on her previous NCAA and Canadian all-time performance, becoming the first female athlete since Florence Ezeh of Southern Methodist from 1999-2001 to capture three consecutive hammer throw titles.

It also marked a century since Jack Merchant became the first NCAA champion ever for the Golden Bears in the men’s hammer throw in 1922. And Rogers became the only athlete in program history to win titles in three consecutive years, with Sheila Hudson having triumphed in the triple jump in 1987, 1988 and 1990.

Although Rogers achieved the five top throws in the competition, Wilson’s second-round effort of 245-4 (74.78m) was an improvement of more than five feet on her previous-best performance and elevated her to the No. 2 athlete in collegiate history.

Rogers boasts 11 of the top 13 throws all-time in the NCAA, with Wilson responsible for the other two.

All eight athletes who earned All-America first-team honors produced the top performances by place in collegiate championship history.

Arizona State and Cal both had two competitors finish in the top seven, becoming the first programs since USC in 2012 to each have a pair of All-America first-team honorees in the same year.

Beatrice Llano, representing Norway, produced her first personal-best effort since 2019 for the Sun Devils to take third at 236-6 (72.10m) and Shelby Moran – a former Oregon prep standout at Sherwood High – finished fifth with a lifetime-best mark of 231-7 (70.58m) to ascend into the top 15 in NCAA history.

Anna Purchase, representing England, joined Rogers by finishing seventh with a 227-6 (69.34m) performance to secure her first All-America first-team recognition.

Sara Killinen of Virginia Tech, representing Finland, placed fourth with a personal-best 233 feet (71.02m) in the first round to elevate to No. 13 in collegiate history and Jalani Davis of Ole Miss also enjoyed a lifetime-best performance in the first flight by securing sixth overall at 228-1 (69.53m).

North Carolina’s Jillian Shippee was ninth at 224-3 (68.36m), just behind Auburn’s Madi Malone earning eighth with a throw of 227-1 (69.22m) to become the first female athlete in program history to earn All-American first-team accolades in the hammer.

Shippee’s performance would have placed her in the top six in every women’s hammer final since the event was added to the NCAA schedule in 1996.

Aquilla led three female competitors surpassing the 18-meter barrier in the shot put final for the second year in a row, but her opening-round performance of 64-5.25 (19.64m) not only eclipsed the 2018 outdoor effort of 63-10.25 (19.46m) by Arizona State’s Maggie Ewen, but also the 2017 indoor all-time mark of 64-2.25 (19.56m) by Raven Saunders of Ole Miss.

Aquilla added another 19-meter performance in the fifth round and had the four best marks of the competition, earning a measure of revenge after having her pursuit of a third Division 1 crown halted March 12 by Arizona State’s Jorinde Van Klinken at the indoor championship meet in Birmingham, Ala.

Van Klinken placed second Thursday at 60-11.50 (18.58m), but was left chasing Aquilla the entire competition following such an emphatic first-round performance that elevated the back-to-back outdoor champion to No. 4 in the world this year.

Aquilla also became the first female athlete to win consecutive outdoor shot put crowns since Saunders achieved the feat for Southern Illinois and Ole Miss in 2015-16.

Axelina Johansson of Nebraska, representing Sweden, took third at 59-3 (18.06m) and Virginia’s Maria Deaviz was fourth with a personal-best 58-11.50 (17.97m), followed by Oregon’s Jaida Ross finishing fifth with a mark of 58-6 (17.83m) to become the first Ducks’ female athlete to earn All-America first-team honors since Brittany Mann from 2014-16.

Ross, along with sixth-place finisher Divine Oladipo of Vanderbilt at 58-2.50 (17.74m), plus seventh-place athlete A’Veun Moore-Jones of Southern Illinois at 57-10.25 (17.63m), in addition to eighth-place performer Annina Brandenburg of Abilene Christian at 56-9.25 (17.30m) all produced the top performances for their respective places in championship meet history.